1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a task selection assistance apparatus, and a task selection assistance method, for assisting a user in selecting a task for solving a problem.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various techniques have been proposed to assist a user in solving a problem.
For example, JP8-115361A (paragraph 0016, and FIG. 1) has proposed a system which provides services depending on each individual user based on the popularity of the service used by the user. However, in the system described in JP8-115361A, the user is required to input a service identifier and a user identifier to a terminal in order to be served by the system. Therefore, the user must have an advance understanding of a service for solving a problem, and the system described in JP8-115361A would be inconvenience for a user who does not have the advance understanding of the service for solving the problem.
There has been another approach for helping a user to search for desired tasks or services for solving problems by defining actions to be taken by the user to solve his or her problem as tasks. In such an approach, the user navigates through tasks in a hierarchical structure displayed on a terminal to find a task for solving a problem.
However, it is not easy for a user to search for a desired task among a large number of menu items and/or tasks through a complicated hierarchical structure displayed on a terminal. Particularly when the user uses a portable terminal to search for a task, a fair amount of time has been consumed in doing so, burdening the user, because of a small screen and poor operability of the portable terminal.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing problems, and it is an object of the invention to provide a task selection assistance apparatus, and a task selection assistance method, which enable burdens on a user to be alleviated in selecting a task for solving a problem.